Police warn Raleigh locals of military cosplay at Rainbow Six Siege tournament

If a game is popular, you can bet that there are fans out there who cosplay as their favorite characters. If someone is cosplaying as Kratos from God of War or an Overwatch character, it’s very clear they are wearing a costume. But some cosplay is harder to differentiate from real life. Ahead of the Rainbow Six Siege Major esports tournament, the Raleigh Police Department in North Carolina notified local residents that they might see folks in military uniforms with fake weapons.

First reported by local newspaper The News & Observer, the Raleigh Police Department emailed those who own property near the Raleigh Convention Center to inform them of the event and potential cosplayers. The police attached photos of Rainbow Six Siege cosplayers. “As you can see in the provided pictures it attracts a lot of people that like to dress in very realistic looking military-type gear,” Raleigh Police said in the email.

A Raleigh police public affairs representative confirmed to Digital Trends that the email was sent purely as a precaution and that the images sent to property owners were from previous Rainbow Six Siege events.

The below image is an example of Rainbow Six Siege cosplay uploaded to Reddit. It’s most likely not the same image sent to Raleigh residents. While some cosplayers don’t go all out, others, as you can tell, really try to look the part.

Cosplayers carrying fake firearms will have them checked by security and tagged before gaining entrance to the convention center. The Raleigh Police Department made it clear that real firearms would not be brought inside by attendees. Ahead of the event, Ubisoft coordinated security measures, including metal detectors and bag checks, with the city and police department.

To be clear, cosplayers dress up as their favorite characters to show their enthusiasm for the games they love. It’s understandable why the Raleigh police would want to give residents a heads-up, though. Although North Carolina is an open-carry state, it could be alarming to see someone in military garb toting a realistic-looking rifle on the streets.

The 2019 Rainbow Six Siege Major is the first to be held in the United States. The tournament is already underway and will run through the weekend. Sixteen teams from around the world will battle for a $500,000 prize pool. If you’re interested in watching the tournament from home, it’s streaming all weekend on the Rainbow Six esports YouTube channel.